Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Burke. In his previous role as Minister of State, he did much work on rural isolation and rural loneliness role and I acknowledge that.

Regarding the Deputy's question, the development and enhancement of community facilities is a priority for me and full details of the capital supports available are on my Department’s website. The community centre investment fund has provided in excess of €109 million since 2022 for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of new centres. Under the 2024 iteration of the fund, more than €33 million has been approved to support refurbishment works on more than 770 projects nationwide.

The community recognition fund, first introduced in 2023, has supported a range of community infrastructure projects, and recognises the huge efforts made by communities in welcoming and supporting people coming to Ireland.

A total of €100 million was allocated under the two iterations of the fund. The town and village renewal scheme, which is currently open for applications, is designed to support the revitalisation of rural towns and villages. The scheme enables the provision of funding for projects designed to rejuvenate town centres and includes projects to renovate and refurbish multipurpose community spaces. Since its launch, more than €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects across Ireland.

The rural regeneration and development fund is a major capital investment programme which seeks to support large-scale ambitious projects to achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. Since 2018, €588 million has been allocated to 243 projects. The development of community facilities can also be funded under the LEADER programme, which is currently up and running across the country until 2027. There is a huge range of supports available and I am committed to further growing this support in line with the commitments made in the programme for Government.

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